Two 'Maoist couriers' held with materials used in explosives in Chhattisgarh

Sukma: Police on Thursday claimed to have busted a Maoist supply network with the arrest of two persons, including a 30-year-old man hailing from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, and seizure of materials used in explosives from them.

Acting on intelligence inputs, the duo was arrested from Devi Chowk in Patnampara here by the district force on Wednesday, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.

They were identified as Mantosh Mandal (28), a resident of Chintalnar in Sukma district, and S Nagarjuna from East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

Two boxes of potassium nitrate, two kilograms of urea powder, three boxes of aluminum powder, one tiffin bomb, two detonators, Maoist literature, one laptop, a mobile SIM card and a mobile phone were recovered from their possession, he said.

During their interrogation, the duo told the police that they have been involved in the supply of gun powder, explosive materials, chemicals, detonators, walkie-talkie and ration items to People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion no. 1 since 2020, he said.

PLGA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The consignment recovered from them was meant for Naxalites, he added.

The PLGA battalion no. 1 had been instrumental in carrying out various deadly attacks on security forces in the past in south Bastar region comprising Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur districts.

With their arrest, the police have busted a key urban supply network of Maoists in the area, Chavan said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added.